Chapter 181 Zhao Yunjing, a treacherous villain!
The Ministry of Rites is preparing to send the top three scholars (Zhuangyuan, Bangyan, and Tanhua) to the flower market.
Scholars usually only read the classics and knew nothing about the affairs of the fields. Apart from eating and sleeping, they basically stayed in their studies and rarely moved around. As a result, the top scholars in each year were generally weak. The robes for the top scholars were usually made to be quite loose, so when they wore them, it was like a child wearing an adult's clothes. They had to use many clips to secure them.
This year's top two scholars, despite their slender builds, kept unfastening their clothes while dressing. Once all the clips were gone, the officials helped them straighten and fix their clothes, showcasing the elegance and poise of the top two scholars.
Zhao Yunjing, in particular, was truly a man of both talent and good looks, even more handsome than the third-ranked scholar.
As for the runner-up, although he was a bit shorter, he wasn't thin either. Once the overly long hem of his clothes was cut off, he would be spirited and handsome.
Chief Minister Su withdrew his gaze and looked at the Emperor: "Your Majesty—"
"Come with me."
Not only Grand Secretary Su, but all six Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet accompanied the Emperor to the study in the side hall to discuss the plan given by Zhao Yunjing.
The chief minister, Su, finished reading first. His face turned green. He asked why the court's new policies were related to him. It turned out that Zhao Yunjing wanted him to be the villain!
—Since the imperial court doesn't have enough positions to accommodate so many students, Zhao Yunjing's first solution is to reduce the number of people.
The first batch to be eliminated were the sons of nobles who occupied positions but never showed up for duty. The second batch consisted of seasoned veterans who had been in the same position for more than five years but had never produced any results, and they were sent to the provinces to gain experience. The truly capable people were promoted. The third batch consisted of officials who inherited their fathers' titles or occupied their positions because of their fathers' merits, receiving salaries from the court but only showing up for duty every day. The last batch consisted of the incompetent relatives of the imperial family.
Premier Su was so angry his nose almost crooked: "If he wants to lay off people, let him do it himself; if he wants to implement new policies, let him do it himself. Why include me in this?"
Leaving aside the fact that he can't easily mess with the imperial relatives, he can't afford to offend those hereditary marquises, and there are twenty or thirty dukes and marquises from first-class to fourth-class. Just the Duke of Wei's mansion alone is enough to give him a hard time!
The others had also finished reading, and they looked at each other, unsure of what to do.
They weren't as angry as Prime Minister Su, because although they were also involved in the plan, the workload and difficulty they were assigned couldn't compare to Prime Minister Su's. Prime Minister Su was on the front lines, while they were at most helping by handing over water and giving a shout. Therefore, they remained calm and thought one step ahead of Prime Minister Su.
The fact that the Emperor showed them this plan means that he approves of it. Perhaps the plan will be implemented when Zhao Yunjing officially enters the court in three days. Calling them here today is probably just to inform them. Whether they agree or not, they have to stand up and advocate for Zhao Yunjing.
They even believed that this plan had little to do with Zhao Yunjing. In fact, it was the Emperor's own plan, but in the past, no one had appeared who could make him delegate power, so it had been shelved. Now that Zhao Yunjing, a bold, capable, and decisive person, had appeared, the two hit it off immediately, and this plan was probably bound to be implemented.
The Emperor stared intently at his six Grand Secretaries, his face expressionless. Finally, he turned to Grand Secretary Su and said, "Grand Secretary, if you have any good suggestions, please share them so we can discuss them."
"Your Majesty, this old minister has no suggestions. I just wanted to vent my frustrations," said the Grand Secretary. "May I ask, Your Majesty, you have already approved this proposal, haven't you?"
"right."
"Then this old minister has nothing to say. The plan is a good plan, but this old minister still has to curse!" Prime Minister Su gritted his teeth, "Zhao Yunjing, that damned scoundrel! I will curse him every time I see him!"
The other five Grand Secretaries exchanged glances, and Grand Secretary Lin stepped forward and tugged at Chief Minister Su: "Your Excellency, do you agree or disagree?"
"I am an official of Daliang, and I serve the people of Daliang. I eat and drink the people's food, so naturally I must think of the people's interests! Since this plan is beneficial to both the court and the people, how could I disagree? But my agreement does not mean I cannot curse Zhao Yunjing! I will curse him! Zhao Yunjing, you treacherous villain!"
Several Grand Secretaries also started cursing. Although they didn't have to offend powerful figures like Grand Secretary Su, they had to get rid of all the useless people in their departments. This was a huge task and would offend a lot of people. They might be ambushed halfway through!
"Zhao Yun Jing! You treacherous villain!" the six scholars cursed in unison.
As Zhao Yunjing rode a tall horse and was being 'watched' by the people, he sneezed three times in a row.
The three horses rode side by side. Young Master Chen was on Zhao Yunjing's right. After Zhao Yunjing sneezed, he glanced at Young Master Chen out of the corner of his eye and saw that he seemed to have something to say. He turned his head and asked, "Brother Chen, what do you want to say?"
As Chen Gongzi opened his mouth, hesitating whether to speak or not, Zhao Yunjing had already turned his head away because he saw Zhou Mujiao.
Zhou Mujiao and the Zhao couple were standing on the second floor of Yue Dong Lou, with five children beside them. The five children saw the person on horseback from afar and shouted excitedly, "It's Big Brother! Big Brother is in the middle!"
Ning Xian's eyesight wasn't very good, but he got excited as soon as he heard it: "The one in the middle is the top scholar! Wearing red clothes, right? Quick, look, isn't he wearing a red robe!"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Master Gan squinted his eyes desperately, finally recognizing him clearly. "The one in the middle is wearing red! Judging from his build, it's Zhao Yunjing! Brother Ning, this year's top scholar might be someone from our Canglan Academy!"
On the sixth day of the lunar month, Chu Liu was so excited that his face turned red. Upon hearing this, he shouted, "What do you mean 'maybe'? It's definitely true! The one in the very middle is my eldest brother! He's riding a tall horse! He has a big red flower pinned to his chest! He's so handsome! Hey, he's looking over here! My eldest brother has seen us! Eldest brother! We're here!"
Eighteen's voice was high-pitched and thin: "Big brother, big brother! The top scholar is my big brother! Ahhhhh, my big brother is the top scholar! Big brother! My sister-in-law and I are here!"
The people below looked up, all with envy. When they saw four or five boys on the platform, some of them started to have their own ideas.
With an elder brother who is a top scholar in the imperial examination, the Zhao family will definitely prosper in the future. If my daughter can marry into the family, she will be a proper official's wife. If the top scholar doesn't separate his family, my daughter can also live in the top scholar's mansion. How prestigious it would be to say that I am from the top scholar's mansion!
It's just a pity that such a handsome and promising top scholar got married so young. But it's alright if he gets married young; even if his daughter marries him as a concubine, she'll still be the wife of a top scholar!
Zhao Yunjing was unaware that he had been targeted the very first time he made a public appearance in front of the entire city. Even if he had known, he probably wouldn't have cared, because his eyes and heart were filled with Zhou Mujiao.
That day, Zhao Yunjing was able to escape from the palace just before dark. He was eager to return home and embrace Zhou Mujiao as soon as possible, but he was ambushed not long after leaving the palace.
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